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Pill Splitting Can Save Money, But Talk to Your Doctor First

Does it seem that the price of your prescription goes up every time you refill it? For those who pay for prescriptions out-of-pocket or have capped prescription coverage, the rising cost of necessary medicine is troubling.

However, people who take some of the most commonly prescribed drugs may be able to reduce costs. A study in the
American Journal of Managed Care
explored the practice of pill splitting. Pill splitting saves money because the per-pill price usually does not vary significantly according to dosage. This is how it works: your doctor writes a prescription for a dosage level twice that of what you need. Then you split the pills in half and you end up with twice as many pills for the same price.
But be wary. Pill splitting may not be a good choice even if it means saving money. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises against pill splitting, unless the drug label states that it is okay. Some concerns over pill splitting include:

Forgetting to split a tablet or being confused by the correct dose, which can lead to accidental overdose

Not splitting the pill evenly

Pills with unusual shapes or sizes may be difficult to split

Here are other concerns you should be aware of regarding pill splitting.

Splitting—Not Safe for All Drugs

In a 2002 study in American Journal of Managed Care, researchers studied if pill splitting can reduce the cost of drugs without compromising their safety and effectiveness. They also set out to identify the drugs that are most appropriate for splitting. These researchers examined the pharmacy records of a managed care plan at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

The study determined the 265 drugs most frequently prescribed at the study hospital and nationally. About half of these drugs cannot be split. These include drugs with the following characteristics:

Those manufactured as capsules

Drugs available in only one dose

Medicines that are not taken orally, such as
asthma
drugs administered by inhaler

Prepackaged pills, such as birth control pills

Those that cannot easily be broken

Pills with an enteric coating, which allows the drug to remain whole until it passes through the stomach to the intestine

Any medicines that are extended release

Talk to Your Doctor Before You Split Pills

Do not split pills without first discussing the safety of the practice for each of your medications with your doctor. For some patients, pill splitting is unwise, resulting in uneven dosing and ineffective treatment. Patients who have the following issues may want to avoid pill splitting:

If you are going to split pills regularly, invest in a pill-splitting device. They are easy to use and allow you to split pills quite accurately. Your pharmacist can show you how to use it.

The United States Food and Drug Administration does not recommend splitting the entire supply of pills at once. Only split one at a time.

Also, if you switch from one brand of medicine to another, you need to make sure that it is still safe to split the pills. Make sure to check the package to make sure that the pill is FDA approved to be split.

If you and your doctor decide that pill splitting is a good strategy for you, you may be able to save a good portion of the money you are now spending on medication.

RESOURCES

Familydoctor.org, American Academy of Family Physicians
http://familydoctor.org/

The Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
http://www.fda.gov/cder

CANADIAN RESOURCES

References

Best Practices for Tablet Splitting. United States Food and Drug Administration website. Available at:
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/EnsuringSafeUseofMedicine/ucm184666.htm. Updated October 21, 2009, Accessed April 10, 2013

This content is reviewed regularly and is updated when new and relevant evidence is made available. This information is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with questions regarding a medical condition.